


Reload

by KinuNishimura



Category: Zanki Zero: Last Beginning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2020-01-31 13:12:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18591943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KinuNishimura/pseuds/KinuNishimura
Summary: By all rights, nobody should be able to fire a bow that fast, but somehow Yuma Mashiro manages it.





	Reload

**Author's Note:**

> i really fucking like this game

By all rights, it doesn't make a lick of sense. It's odd for Haruto to say something like that given the situation he's in, but even when one is used to the impossible, the little things can stand out.

The corpses of three hummingbirds lay flat on the floor of Kaiyo Academy's Class 2-B, with one arrow shot directly into the trunk of two of them, and two managing to pierce the small body of the third. One of their beaks is perfectly intact, which is always good to see- whatever it is Yuma does that makes Rinko so flustered in the morning, apparently it works. “Leave some for the rest of us.” Zen's smiling as he complains.

“A woman of Mashiro always finishes whatever is on her plate, with no exceptions.” Yuma responds, briefly swiping at her own back to gauge around how many arrows she has left. (It's sixty-seven. Haruto has been counting.)

Haruto isn't terrible with a bow, but he isn't great, either. Rinko and Minamo have taken their brief shots at it, too. Yuma, though? Yuma is a once-in-a-lifetime talent. Which brings Haruto back around to the initial thought- he's not completely sure how she could physically manage to kill those three hummingbirds that fast. It isn't as though she fired the four arrows simultaneously, they were separate shots, and yet she apparently fired with such inhuman speed that her targets had perished in the blink of an eye.

“Dr. Ichiyo,” he asks later, once the gathering trip is over and they've finished satisfying Ryo's urge to try tying up the cellphone tentacle (it doesn't go well for him. He'll need an Extension.) “how does she do it? Yuma, I mean.”

“You're referring to her technique with the bow, I imagine?” Mamoru strokes his goatee. “Frankly, I'm not sure myself. I don't believe it's a Shigabane adaptation- it doesn't display any of the notable signs. Maybe it's love.”

“That doesn't...” Haruto sighs and trails off. Mamoru's doing the heart gesture again.

It isn't until several days later that Haruto gets his answer. Through sheer coincidence, no doubt, a machine Haruto isn't familiar with is part of Minamo's finds from the Metro Plaza. “No clue what it is, but it looks neat.” Minamo laughs.

“Ooh, ooh!” Sachika's ahoge bounces up like a candleflame. There's a look of giddiness in her eye. “Can Sachika see?!” It's not as though anyone's going to say no to Sachika. “Ohh, this looks like some of the bits inside the Extend Machine.”

“It... really is amazing how easily you can recognize that.” Rinko chuckles, grabbing her arm. The self-conscious chuckle is a bit muted coming out of her old mouth.

“I'm gonna see if I can find somewhere to put them in!” Sachika bounces.

“Haha, yeah, sounds like a great oh god SACHES _NO,_ ” Ryo shrieks, jumping up on one foot. Zen laughs and says, 'well, if we all die then I guess it was nice knowing you guys.”

“I'll-” Haruto clears his throat. It's not a very imposing sound coming out of him, considering he currently looks like he's about six years old. “I'll help.”

Eventually, the two of them manage to connect the parts in, and by the grace of the good doctor, the Extend Machine powers on again. “...What?” Minamo blinks. There's a flashing NEW! sign next to Reckless Skies, of all things.

“Maybe it was from an old arcade machine?” Haruto posits. “Since the Extend Machine does have the Reckless Skies functionality- it might be that the machine has a multi-purpose emulator installed... or something like that.” The frown on Mamoru's face is drawn and tired, and he puts his head in his hand.

“Well, we gotta check it out!” Ryo excitedly jumps up to the machine, and he and Sachika are both giddy with excitement. “Maybe this game will suck less!” There's a command console on Reckless Skies now that allows for shifting what game is currently running. “Let's see... 'House of the Dead 3?'”

Yuma is very quiet sometimes, and so when she _appears_ by the Extend Machine, it scares Ryo senseless. “Sachika Hirasaka.” From somewhere or another, she produces- ah, yes, Haruto has seen those in arcades before. That's a lightgun, complete with holster, perhaps also from the Metro Plaza? “How quickly can you install this to the machine's dashboard?”

“So you did keep it, after all...” Rinko says. Perhaps there's history here, but Haruto will never know.

Sachika looks at the gun for a moment, and then gets right back to work. It's not ten minutes later that the Extend Machine is equipped with a functioning lightgun. “It has been some time since my skills were properly tested.” Yuma says, and then smirks. “This will be enjoyable.” The smoothness of Yuma's movements as she unholsters the lightgun and begins the game is something to behold, but the speed and precision with which she blasts away the undead hordes is something else entirely, so unbelievably skilled that it triggers a flash of insight in Haruto's mind.

Ah, right, he thinks to himself. She's a _gamer_. That explains _everything._


End file.
